Pickup Reel Cam Track Angle of Attack Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Crop harvesting headers face challenges in efficiently managing the angle of attack of pickup reel fingers to effectively gather and move crops, leading to inefficiencies in crop processing and potential damage during transport.
Innovation Solution
A non-circular cam track system is integrated with the pickup reel, featuring cam and guide surfaces that control the rotation of reel bats, maintaining consistent loading force and contact points to adjust the angle of attack of the fingers, ensuring optimal crop engagement and reduced noise and vibration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the pickup reel fingers are mounted on rotatable bats to vary the angle of attack, then crop gathering efficiency is improved, but the system complexity and potential for inconsistent finger engagement increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cam track varies the radial position of the reel bats during rotation, dynamically changing the angle of attack parameter of the fingers. This allows optimization of crop engagement at different points in the rotation cycle, improving gathering efficiency while maintaining a relatively simple mechanical structure through geometric design rather than complex control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The cam track employs curved, non-circular geometry to convert the uniform rotational motion of the pickup reel into variable radial displacement of the reel bats. This curved path design enables smooth, continuous variation of the finger attack angle without requiring complex actuators or control mechanisms.
2Reliability
If the cam track is designed to maintain consistent loading force on cam followers, then finger engagement consistency is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cam track profile is specifically designed with varying curvature and radius to compensate for dynamic loading variations. By carefully controlling the geometric parameters of the cam surface, the system maintains relatively constant force on the cam followers throughout the rotation cycle, ensuring consistent finger engagement despite the complexity of the force distribution requirements.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the reel bats are allowed to rotate freely to adjust angle of attack, then crop movement flexibility is improved, but noise and vibration increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cam track provides controlled, localized variation in the reel bat radial position only where needed for optimal crop engagement, rather than allowing free rotation throughout the entire cycle. This localized control enables flexible crop movement adjustment while maintaining stable, low-vibration operation during the majority of the rotation where uniform motion is beneficial.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system enhances crop processing efficiency by maintaining consistent finger engagement and reducing noise and vibration, while allowing for adjustable timing and retraction of fingers for transport, thereby improving overall harvesting and transport operations.
Implementation Method 1
a non-circular cam track mounted adjacent to the pickup reel and surrounding the reel axis, the cam track being immobilized with respect to the header. The cam track includes a cam surface and a guide surface
Implementation Method 2
a guide follower disposed on the linkage for engagement of the guide surface at a third point of contact between the first and second points of contact
Implementation Method 3
An offset between the guide surface and the cam surface along the cam track is selected to cause each of the first and second cam followers to maintain contact with the cam surface and the guide follower to maintain contact with the guide surface
Data Source
AI summary
A crop harvesting header including a pickup reel mounted for rotation about a reel axis includes a plurality of reel bats peripherally disposed and having outwardly extending fingers rotatable about a bat axis. A cam track surrounding the reel axis includes a cam surface and a guide surface. A linkage associated with each reel bat has first and second cam followers that engage the cam surface at first and second contact points displacing the linkage while traversing the cam track, the linkage being coupled to cause rotation of the reel bat about the bat axis for changing an angle of attack of the fingers. A guide follower engages the guide surface at a third contact point between the first and second contact points and is offset to cause the first and second cam followers and the guide follower to maintain contact with the guide surface while traversing the cam track.